Dad broke arm, but fixed soccer team

June 21, 2004

Alexis Domme: Guest Columnist

Something I’ll always appreciate about my dad is that he will drop whatever he is doing to make his daughters happy.
When I was in eighth grade, my soccer team discovered our coach had quit. This was halfway through the season and the league basically said, “Too bad.”
We were devastated and didn’t know what in the world we might have done or said to inspire our coach to leave the world of youth soccer forever.
Alas, my dad decided he would step up and be our coach.
Aside from the fact that he knew absolutely nothing about off-sides, player position or how to tactfully navigate a temper tantrum from an unhappy 15 year-old, he was a fantastic coach.
He had us run around a whole bunch and practice passing to each other in doubles for the majority of every practice.
But one day he had an insight. The team lined up to take shots on him (the mighty goalie that he was). I can remember watching the girls fire shot after shot.
Beth, my best friend, ended the drill. Being a very physical and athletic girl, she ran forward, trapped the ball and slammed it as hard as possible, directly at my dad.
The field watched as the ball bulleted straight at him. He lifted a forearm just high enough to deflect the ball. At the moment of impact, you could see the pain written all over his face. I can still hear his wail as his arm snapped.
I remember watching him clutch his arm to his chest, grimacing, then spinning around, cursing, and walking directly into the goal post. His forehead slammed into the part that juts off to hang the net.
He reeled back and landed on the ground. This was a man in serious pain.
The team stood there stunned for a few moments, fearful a second coach was about to quit.
My dad rolled over and over in the grass cursing the soccer gods and each and every 15-year-old he knew.
We were genuinely sad that he broke his arm and split open his forehead on our account. Beth certainly can’t forget the blue cast she signed, “I’m sorry!! Love Beth.”
Every time I see one of those girls these days, we laugh, remembering the days Mr. Domme spent trying to resurrect our broken soccer team.

Alexis Domme is a senior at Eastern New Mexico University. Her dad, Craig Domme, is a salesman in Farmington. She can be contacted at:
alexisdomme@hotmail.com